Crystal River Trout and Sheepshead

Florida Sportsman

Messed with the sheepies a bit this week and they’re beginning to get a bit bigger. Or the cold has pushed the grouper out and we can actually get to the sheepshead now. The trout bite has been decent after it warms up a bit. We’ve just been slinging plastics in three to four feet of water. I caught some in the river while freezing to death yesterday messing around. I also broke off a mid 30’s snook trying to flip it.

The trout bite has been solid on the shallow flats in two to three feet of water. The fish have been responding to a popping cork and a shrimp or soft plastics on 1/8oz jigs. It’s varied day to day on which one they prefer. Luckily, they’ve been mostly slot fish. We’ve also been starting to get some sheepshead on the nearshore rocks. Wednesday we had to get wrecked by grouper and catch 100 grunts to weed out six keeper sized sheepshead. It wasn’t easy.

Reportedly the trout bite was slow in the Cedar Key area, so your best bet would be to focus on reds. Gator4Life limited out on reds each day of his 3 day trip. On the other hand, nick reports a good trout bite in Crystal River along with spanish mackerel, ladyfish and the occasional redfish and tripletail.

Gator4Life: We fished for some trout first and didn’t get as many as the last trips out. We caught around 20, with 1/3 being keeper size fish. We had a large nurse shark swim right up to the boat. He was probably seven or eight feet. We moved over to the oyster/shell bars just before high tide and my wife reeled in her personal best redfish. In the middle of some pictures, it spit up an old, rusted jighead. Interesting

Josh…BAMF: There were only a few vehicles int he parking lot a Fort Island Trail Park boat ramp when we arrived. We started at the spoil banks and landed six trout, all between 18-20 inches and a nice 12 inch mangrove. All were caught on live shrimp on jig heads on the south side of the spoil banks. After about a half hour the trout bite shut down, so we started looking for bigger bait. We found a nice weedling with sardines all over it. We loaded the livewell and headed a few miles out and caught nothing but short gags and grunt. The seas were very nice and there was no wind which made for a smooth ride, but unbearably hot when not moving. We called it a day around 3pm and came home with some meat for the kids.

It was a good day on the water, even the rain held off. I got this real nice red right at the boat that hit a topwater. Later, while using a stick bait I missed the biggest trout I’ve ever seen. My buddy got snagged, so I turned around to see where he was snagged at. When I turned back there was this huge trout staring at my bait which had floated to the surface. I twitched it once and she jumped. I twitched it again and she jumped on it. Instantly, my line broke. I estimate the size was about 30 inches. Like I said, it was huge. Fast forward about a half hour and I saw an very large snook, about 44 inches, take a swipe at my stick bait. Again, right at the boat. That got my heart pounding. She missed it, but man that fish was enormous. My buddy also caught several trout, with one measuring about 20 inches.

I asked a bit ago if anyone had room on a boat and had a few responses. I got busy the day I had chosen, but my wife and I ended up meeting up with a forum member a week later to try one last time for snook before the season closed. It was fairly windy, so we did not go very far offshore, but tried a number of spots inshore near the Crystal River power plant, the channel, a few of the islands, and a bit into the Withlacoochee River. The fish seemed to be tight lipped, which resulted in not that many tight lines. We did end up catching a decent sized whiting and an overslot red, which my wife happily hooked up with. Overall, it was a fun day out on the water with a new friend and we got to explore a new area that we had not fished yet. We really liked the area and will definitely return in the future.

Although strong winds have been reported in the Big Bend region, the fishing has been difficult, but decent. Forum member Elapid reported good fishing on a high tide and reported redfish, big trout and later day snook. Gator4Life fished Steinhatchee where he caught many short trout, one red and a big ol’ 24″ trout he found in a creek. While fishing Yankeetown, NativeOne reported, “The action was steady fishing into the tide under big schools of mullet all through the incoming. Using a mix of bait and spoons we managed three overslot reds, the biggest at 34″, two lower slot reds, a big ugly, and a stud snook. It was a solid day, and reports from my members indicate that this kind of action has been pretty steady in Yankeetown as well as Cedar Key and Ozello all week.”

Our first spot we poled down on was a small grassy bar with no one in sight. As soon as our bait hit the water, here comes a boat straight for us. There are five square miles of oyster bars around us and this fella picks the one we’re fishing. I then realize he’s not fishing, but pulling right on top of our bait to get out and take some photo shoots with a tripod . My wife’s bait is just feet from them, so she goes to reel in and wham! Red on! She catches a 28″ on the first cast, feet away from Captain Guy Harvey and his photo companion. It was only a sign of things to come. We moved around hitting different bars and for the next three hours we caught a 29″ red, another 28″er, and two between 26-27″ that we took home for dinner. We also caught a large black drum that took forever to get to the boat.

I took a friend out around noon and headed out to the grass flats off Snake Key. We caught lots of speckled trout but even more silver/sand trout. If you threw a gulp under a cork, you mostly got specks. If you cast without a cork and bounced along the bottom, you mostly caught sand trout. I don’t remember the last time this many sand trout were mixed in with the specks. There are plenty of ladyfish out there also, so we kept a large one to try for some reds. I caught one red at 17 3/4″ and two reds that were twins at 27 1/4″. We didn’t bring home any reds for supper, but it was nice to see them back in the holes we got them in last fall.

I went out in the wind Saturday. It was pretty nasty out where I wanted to fis,h so went in to fish the banks out of the wind. The tide was about halfway in. We were floating shrimp on corks, just kinda rod-holder-fishing for about an hour and half. The trout bite started hot. I got an 18″, then right after one around 17″. Then I caught my my personal best trout. She was a hair under 27″ with tail pinched out. She put up a good fight for a trout. I finished up with a 16″ then called it.

We got anchored up around 11:30 and for the next three to four hours it was sheepshead mania. We were using our light weight trout rods with 15 pound braid and 20 flurocarbon leaders with shrimp rigged on drop shots and jig heads. I barely had time to fish myself, between unhooking big sheepshead and retying an occasional break off. After the first 15 or so keepers, we began to be really selective and only kept the really big ones. By about 3:00 we had close to 25 keepers for our boat.

The last morning, my older son and I went out for an inshore fishing expedition starting at about 8:45. Armed with our usual popping corks and gulps, we managed to find a good group of trout stacked up in some three to five foot grass flats between Atsena Otie and Snake Islands on the high tide. We ended the morning with six keepers in the cooler, three of which were around the 19 inch mark, and numerous shorts that were released. The best combo seemed to be the cajun thunder cork with a four inch new penny shrimp gulp.

The weather was gorgeous, flat calm and sunny. We ran north to a trough in the middle of a shallow flat. The trout were stacked up in the trough and reds were scattered along the edges. We caught about 30-40 trout, six reds, and nine flounder. We ended up bringing three reds, eight trout and four flounder in the cooler and were headed back by noon.

We caught all the usual suspects, from baby groupers to almost everything that lives on the bottom, with spanish mackerel added to the list. We were just enjoying the day, shooting the bull, and then it happened! We got a triple. I had the elusive sponge fish, Barbara had the mini devil bass fish, and here comes the surprise, Butch had a 25 and 1/2 inch redfish!

The winds were perfect and the seas were flat. We decided to take Ruff One out on the bay to try our luck on those pesky sheeps. We headed out to the shallow Homosassa rocks. We finally found some around a big rock in 12 feet. The bite came on fast and ended just as quick. We used shrimp and a knocker rig. We put five in the boat and that was it for the day. The bycatch was off the radar. We caught every fish in the gulf except cobia and mackerel. We even put four trout in the boat!

The plan was to look for sheeps, but it was blowin’ pretty good in the morning. We went to a creek to check it out first. The trout were stacked up pretty thick still, even with the water temperature going back up to mid 60s. We used 1/8th oz Jim’s Jig and a gold flake Lil’ John all day. It would’ve been an easy two man limit if we wanted to keep a lot. Then got two redfish, one was 22″ and the other was around 15″. We also snagged four flounder in there, that doesn’t happen often. Around noon we went looking for sheepshead, but found 50 baby grouper instead. Jake started playing around with the push button reel and got a monster sheepshead! Snapper and sheepshead are stacked up with upper 60 degree water temperatures.

It was super windy and cold, so fishing was tough, but we still got some nice fish. We started off bouncing some jigs in the river. Will got a nice slot on his second cast of the morning. We got a couple more baby snook and snapper there before heading down river. We drifted for trout caught about six 12-14″ and tons of annoying ladyfish tossing a white gulp shrimp on a Jims jig. We headed to the the spoil banks where we got a variety of small snook, reds, and a mackerel. The tide came up a little so we went into the creeks. There, I was surprised to find a few nice sheepshead. One was over 23″ the other was 14″, both on shrimp. Colin got a 25″ red on a Cajun Thunder and shrimp combo. We headed to open flats to just find 20 more baby trout. We got bored of that and went up river to catch another ten baby snook before calling it a day.

I’ve been fishing about twice a week with the cooler water temperatures and I have been catching a lot of trout. You have to work through all of the 14 inchers that are out there to get some keepers. The snook seem to be moving in for warmer water. The redfish seem to be scattered.

My son Alex and I were touring Florida universities to give him a little taste of where he will continue his education next year. We made an important detour on our way to Tallahassee to fish Ozello! Using spinning rods – Alan Niblett poled us through the thick fog up the little creeks in the backcountry that he knows like the back of his hand. The fish were a little finicky early and we had a few refusals then things turned on and we were able to trick a few. I wound up with a snook and a small red and Alex caught a really nice red. I have to say your reds fight way harder than the reds down our way. Alex has caught more than a few in his day, but figured the drag must have been to loose to have a fish rip drag like that!! After figuring out it wasn’t a problem with the drag, he went to work and after a few minutes and a little dance around the boat Alex was psyched to land the fish of the day!

The fish gets about ten feet from us and surfaces for the first time. Holy cow, it’s a snook- and a big one. I got it netted, measured, a few pics and back in the water. My wife’s first snook ever and it was a 35″ slobberknocker. I told her jokingly that we might as well head home because we’re not doing better than that. We hit a few more bars and caught a 24″, 25″ and 26″ redfish. I went home only catching one red and she went home with bragging rights.

Early on before the tide faded out I landed a nice lower slot trout. At the bottom of the a.m. tide I hooked into something nice. My first impression was a big mackerel, but no, an offshore snook at about 24″. Some ladyfish came through busting on the bait, which was the first time I’d seen bait that thick this year. We switched gears and went for the reds. By now tide was ripping in, and wind was picking up. There were lots of small snappers, a couple small groupers, and just one rat red, but that would round off my first Crystal River slam. I suspect the reds pushed inshore with that big afternoon new moon tide.

The spot we had been catching redfish didn’t produce today. We did a little searching and found five reds. Not as good as before the storm, but I’m not complaining with a 30″ and a 26 7/8″ perfect size keeper. We also caught a couple of nice flounder. The trout bite was slow. We reeled in maybe ten total with only one keeper size.

Right at high tide, every redfish out there all of a sudden was hungry. I got there at 12 and from 12:30 to 2 we seemed to catch one to two reds on every cast. All were upper and over slot, more slot fish than previous years. The bigger ones haven’t made their way in just yet. I caught five 28-30″ reds.

The biggest snook since spring hits my lure and gives me a great battle. She took me all the way around the boat on the third run, after jumping completely out of the water twice. She had the whole lure in her mouth, with one hook in the gill supports and the other partially swallowed. Working from behind the gills and then in that cavernous mouth with two tools a hand and the lure, we got her unhooked without damage and only a drop or two of blood. We snapped a quick pic and released her with surprisingly short revival.

The short trout were biting my Gulp shrimp. I moved around hitting the deeper edges of the grass flats and managed three keeper size. I went back to my red hole a second time to fish the top of the incoming. I’ve been getting them the two hours after the high, so I didn’t know if they would be there. I ended up with five more keepers, the biggest at 23.5″.

We caught a few reds and a few snook plus a jack. Snook were really active, with me missing two of them when they jumped and threw the lure. The water was in the hot range and the fish were all in less than three feet of water. They were taken on soft jerkbaits, although I think Mark got one on a gold spoon. Nice day on the water.

Our trip this morning was a very short three hour, dock to dock, but the tide was good and the fish gods were smiling on us. Megan caught two big snook and an oversized trout, all on topwater. I caught a snook too, and it was not as small as she says, just so you know. We saw dolphins, manatee, ospreys diving and a pair of frigate birds up close.

It was a little choppy, but nice weather so we decided to head south. The fish were active, but were being picky about hitting an artificial. We managed to put an eater in the boat, added a few other reds, and probably six snook, counting the snooklets. All of the fish were caught on either a gold spoon or a soft jerkbait in less than three feet of water.

First cast of the day, I got a nice redfish on topwater. We ended up catching another slot red along with several shorts. As we were working our way out of the area we were fishing, I hooked a nice snook. After a few jumps and hard runs I was able to land it, and she was just over 36 inches. At the beginning of the outgoing tide, we worked a couple outside rocks and bars and were able to catch a couple upper slot trout, along with a bonus flounder. All fish were caught on artificials.

My girlfriend landed her personal best red at 34″ and my daughter brought in two slot reds, a 29″ overslot, and a big ugly-her biggest fish yet. The black registered 42 pounds on the boga grip, which was funny because my daughter weighs 54 pounds. Once the girls got tired of catching fish, I was able to land a few for myself, before the tide got too low. It’s been some great fishing despite the temperatures and the recent full moon. The water still feels like bathwater, but all this rain we’ve been getting must be doing something to keep the bite going strong.

It wasn’t ideal conditions, but we caught a few snook and had fun sight fishing for some giant black drum or as we like to call them, big uglies. The next time I got out, I was with forum member WishinIwasfishin and wanted to try some new territory. We had a good high tide to search for some red drum. I found a nice 26.5″ red on a mangrove point. We patterned fished the points and had a good day finding redfish.

We headed out to the Floatilla for some scallops. We started north of Homosassa and the pickings were pretty slim. We moved a few times and slowly managed to get about three gallons over about two hours. We were mostly in about five to six feet of water. We also found a really cool ledge with nice sized snapper and grouper sitting on it, right in the middle of the grass flats. It was about 20 feet long and had about a three foot relief. Figuring we had enough scallops for an appetizer, we headed in to try fishing. I picked up an 18 inch red and the next cast my wife one upped me and caught a 21 incher. Also caught about four or five little 12 inch snook.

It’s been a while since I’ve fished out of Bayport, but I decided to stay local. I loaded up the kids and the boat and headed out around 10am. I cast netted some pinfish, while waiting for the tide to come in, then went to work. Spent maybe three hours on the water and ended up with a trout and four reds ranging from 19″-26″. Great day with the boys.

I finally got back in my little boat to give Ozello another try. In no time, I got some nice reds, 23″ and 26″. We lost a couple other slot reds and caught a baby snook. I figured we should plan for rain after 1:30pm, so we looked for trout quick. We caught a handful before getting bored with them, since catching trout in 8 feet of water in 15mph wind is no fun. We bounced around, looking for snook and managed one little baby. I got my first Ozello slam, with a couple nice reds.

The fishing was slow, but steady at first. We noticed the rain showers coming in from the southwest and put up the bimini and prepared for the soaking. As soon as the rain started, the bite went nuts! We left the fish biting with five fish boated in no time. We decided to run out to 12′ NW of marker four to look for some cobia. No joy on the cobia. I fished the tourney Saturday with the wife and step-son. We got set up on the same island as Friday. Rains came again and so did the redfish. We boated six redfish and lost a very nice snook at the boat.

The fish were cooperative. We took all of them on artificial, as usual, with soft jerk baits and the Redfish Magic being the lures of choice. The fish were extremely aggressive when hooked, and many just either got off or didn’t get hooked after hitting the lure hard. We put twelve reds in the boat and six snook were brought to the boat.

We made a quick trip on Mothers Day until 10:30 or so, just throwing topwater. For only a couple hours on the water, we still got a lot of hits on video. Hooking one out of ten hits is sometimes frustrating, but it’s so cool to see them crush it. We probably had three to four 30+” snook destroy it and miss three or four times. We also boated around five 20-26″ snook and a bunch of jacks.

When the tide started to come in, we moved to a spoil island and worked some rocky bottom. We picked up a few solid reds 26-29″ using gold spoons and live blue crabs. We moved to one last island for the top half of the incoming, which produced a particularly unusual catch for us.

We decided there was enough water and started working the mangroves. In fairly short order, two upper slot trout, and two reds at 22” and 25” came aboard. Later, on the way home, Alex got his 25” trophy.

We noticed the sheepshead were like 5-10ft off the bottom when I dropped the go pro down. We got some by slowly dropping shrimp on light weight knocker rigs or single split shot. We moved to the reef and got around 20 snapper from 14″-20″ and some more nice sheepshead.

Everything was on live shrimp today, besides one 24″ gag on a pinfish. Sheepshead were caught on a live shrimp 6-12″ off the bottom and the snapper were caught mostly freelined. All in about 30ft of water out of Crystal River.

Thinking the tide should be getting right to go hunt reds, we made our way though some shallow stuff and got set up on a oyster bar. Brandi struck quickly with a 19″ redfish. I hear her drag screaming again. She brings up a nice chunky 24″ fish.

My friend Danny was using a DOA cal on a 1/4 oz jig and I was using a small, white rapala skitterwalk. We both had multiple hookups and caught a few mid-slot fish before the tide dropped out and the fish disappeared.

I worked my way in the creek with nothing but a few trout to show for it, until I came across the highest spot in the creek. It had boulders strewn about on both sides of an oyster bar choke point. The reds were holding here, waiting for bait to get flushed out on the falling tide.

I switched to a jig tipped with shrimp and caught a decent snook and two rat reds. Fished my way home on the trolling motor, but no takers.Thursday morning wind was up and everything looked different from the two windless mornings I had Wednesday and Thursday.

As I lifted the rod tip, he shook his head one last time and the line sounded like a guitar string breaking and I watched him swim off with my gold spoon. My son said, “To heck with it, I’m using the last spoon” and quickly tied it on his rod. About ten minutes later he had a red that looked like a twin to my first one in the boat!

I headed out of Mason Creek with my daughter, son-in-law and son to try a spot that usually holds a lot of slot redfish this time of year and they were not home! There were nice sized trout in the hole and we managed two nice snook as well as a 33″ redfish! A great day for three hours of fishing.

My grandson, Eli, caught several sand trout on his own, but needed a little help with his first Spanish Mac. James caught a real nice Mac also and we all caught a bunch of sand trout. Soon headed for the frying pan. A good two hours of fishing.

The plan was to drag some minnows for specks. We probably caught eight or so, but overall it was really slow. All of my fish came on soft plastic grubs and not minnows, which is odd. We abandoned that plan and started fishing some shiners near grass mats close to deep water. Caught one nice bass, but that was it.

Duane was convinced yesterday was a good topwater day, so he was throwing it while I used my usual soft jerk bait. We put two reds in the cooler at 24, eight trout smallest at 18, and released eight more reds. The smallest reds were the 24’s we kept.

We saw tons of mullet, small snappers, birds, manatees, bait fish, it’s really a cool environment. The kids wore out the 6″ snapper using dead shrimp, they easily caught 50+. No more than two miles from the ramp, I was bouncing a paddle tail soft bait near the bank and had my fishing highlight.

We only had a couple of hours to fish and still had a great time. We caught plenty of fish that it felt like a whole day. Had a couple 24-25″ redfish and some 18-20″. We also got some nice drum and a sheepshead to bring home.

The structure and rock in there was incredible, with swiss cheese oyster covered rock everywhere and it was holding fish. It was so skinny you couldn’t throw any bait but topwater. I fished until I ran out of water. I boated at least a dozen good reds with the biggest at 30 inches and lost at least half a dozen. All of the fish but two were caught on topwater.

Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went out with the same plan in mind. After a few ladyfish were on ice, we fished a shoreline with artificials. My wife did great. Two trout and a snook. After the snook we tried to get her a red to round out the inshore slam.

I saw mullet jumping, tails popping out of the water, and wakes being made by some good looking redfish. I cut off the trolling motor drifted a little closer and on my second cast, fish on! For the next hour, this trend continued. I ended up landing a total of 9 redfish.

We basically caught mid slot reds on the entire drift through this creek and also several 15-18 inch trout. Anna had a snook follow her spoon to the boat too. I caught a few decent reds on topwater and I definitely caught more trout than she did, they couldn’t resist the topwater spook.

We pulled into an almost empty CK parking lot. That’s when you know your dedicated, dumb or both. Winds were blowing 15mph at times, but we made the most of it with four Reds, a Flounder and about ten Trout.

I see Jay putting on a paddle tail and I STRONGLY suggest that he use live bait as we had a bait well full of shrimp, pinfish and mud minnows and I figured it would increase his chances. But no, he stubbornly insists on using it and then promptly pulls this 29-inch snook out from under the mangroves on his first cast.

We had a hard time catching a lot at first, being on the opposite side of the bar from the school, so we got snagged a lot. There was so many that we still managed catching several on top of the rocks though.

Today I went out early with Robbie, but we started at slack high tide and didn’t catch anything until the water was flowing out hard. Been catching smaller snook and this 35 inch snook is the first big one I’ve gotten in a month or so and a real treat.

It was a little slow at first but then as we warmed up so did the fish. I started off with three keeper reds and a trout before we decided to move. Duane, not to be out done, adds three more keeper reds in the boat.

So off we go to Billy’s Creek. It was full of reds with some with their backs out of the water. The problem was they wouldn’t bite anything we threw at them. After a frustrating period of time, and for once wishing (sort of), that we should have had bait Duane says let’s move.

Fished a bit for a few trout, caught maybe three or four, to wait for water. That didn’t last long, just needed one for the box anyway, and Duane says let’s go for the reds. They were around, even saw one with it’s fins out of the water, but they were reluctant to feed. We kept trying and eventually put eight keepers in the boat all around the 22 inch size.

It made a loooong run of probably 100 yards and we ran it down. When it came to the net, it was a “slob”, very similar to mine from the other day, in fact we measured it at 39″, same as mine, but a different place.

As I was re-rigging a spare rod, I put my rod in the holder and slam, Jack grabbed the rod was on with a 26 inch red. A couple minutes later we resume, I am just finishing my knot from earlier and slam, Jack takes my rod and lands another upper slot slob.

As the day progressed, the wind seemed to die down some, so we hunted some crab pot floats for tripletail on the way out but didn’t find anything legal. We tried working another bar along the spoils further out and picked up a couple more trout, some jacks, a redfish, and I finished my inshore slam with a decent snook.

We went out the next afternoon into the Gulf and fished on the grass banks north of Steinhatchee. Found spots where there was thin grass and adjacent oyster bars/rock piles. The first spot we could see reds and drum tailing all over the place, the reds were also rubbing in the grass.

Finally had a nice enough day to head out to long point. We got a later start than what we wanted too but were still at the ramp in time to get to the banks before the tide changed. I hooked up with the first trout then my girlfriend landed the next three back to back.

Short Trip, Hot Bite Florida Sportsman member: Jim311 The first stop was a creek that had produced well for me on Thursday, but it generally holds smaller fish. It was about two hours from the bottom of the low tide but we made the call to get skinny and risk getting stuck in the creek in hopes of finding a good bite and it paid off. Click here to read the full forum report

Fun on the Chaz Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One Duane uses that Chaz finesse and this snook is caught! But, he swallowed the lure completely and there was no way this one would go back. The damage was to great. At 28 1/2 inches he was legal and will give up some delicious fillets. Click here to read the full forum report

Fishing Both Sides Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown From Yankeetown to Cedar Key to Horseshoe and both Palm Coast and Matanzas on the east coast. The east coast has had vary clear water for sight fishing and we have been getting 10 or so a trip. The west side, well let’s just say it’s been catching, not fishing. Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Trout and Sheepshead Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286 After reading Super D’s post about catching trout in the days inn canal figured we’d start there since we launch there on every trip and was surprised to catch a 17 inch trout on my first cast with a gold lil john. Caught a few more on every other cast then got one more in the mullet hole before heading to the creeks. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Trip Florida Sportsman member: Flat Nuts I made an excuse to come back up your way with my daughter. We were sneaking up to Ocala to pick up a new pup for my wife for Valentines day under the guise of a quick father daughter fishing trip. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching in the River Florida Sportsman member: 4WARD We stayed in the river on Sunday and jumped around here and there. Snapper were not very active but a couple reds decided to play. We ended up with two reds (23 and 26 3/4 inches), one drum and a couple snappers. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching on the New boat Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 I saw a fish tailing so I told mom where to look and she saw the fish and made the shot. Without me telling her where and boom, fish on! A solid fish at 27 inches and was her first real fish that she has sight fished. Click here to read the full forum report

Low Tide Action Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 The water came in a little bit so I started working a shoreline next to a creek mouth. This turned out to be the best decision. We saw several fish, and some absolute studs, on the outside along the shoreline. Ended up picking up a couple fish this way. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching on Topwater Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown I got blasted three more times by giants here but they were over hitting the plug, literally coming out of the water. My co-worker had enough and went to top water as well. Did not take long and he was crushed by a giant. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching in the Creeks Florida Sportsman member: kingkong954 On our way out of the creek I managed to get my lure stuck in some grass. After much yanking and pulling and cursing the lure pops out into the water and wraps around my rod tip. After some cursing and untangling I find out the action had somehow attracted a redfish, who had eaten the lure while I untangled the line! Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Variety Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Tripletail fishing has been great along the channel markers, crab trap buoys, and floating grass mats. Live shrimp under a float is a sure bet when targeting these fish. Look for them as you run from spot to spot. They hide just below the floating structure or nose up to channel markers. Click here to read the full forum report

December Big Bend Action Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown We had a negative low mid morning which I like to fish up there, well it did not disappoint. The trout and reds were laid up in the pot holes just like they should be in spring weather. Caught well over 40 nice trout up to 23 inches and 20 reds up to 30 inches. Click here to read the full forum report

Topwater Action Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed I hear a big snook hit Robbie’s lure with that telltale giant suction slurp they do and the battle was on. Fish was in good current and was a multiple jumper of five or six times. After a good battle the 31 inch fish came to the net. Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Reds and Trout Florida Sportsman member:StandOutI2 We ran out to a pretty low tide, so we started trout fishing. Boy were they on fire, they were eating everything, topwater, flukes, jigs, whatever we threw. Most of them being 19 to 23 inches with a few smaller ones mixed in. After about two hours of that we went to go find some reds. Click here to read the full forum report

Patience pays Florida Sportsman member:shuterkng Not a great day as it was starting to get late and the tide was about full. Then surprise, monster red invasion. Almost everyone got a big red as we were fighting for position on the boat, girls won. We kept four that were just under 27 inches and released a bunch more. Click here to read the full forum report

No Water No Problem Florida Sportsman member:barhopperAD Catching mullet paid off, first cast was a 26 inch red. Little bro was catching rat reds left and right. The water got higher and action got slower. So we moved around explored a little to find a fishy looking cove with lots of activity and that REALLY paid off. Click here to read the full forum report

Cedar Key Action Florida Sportsman member:Big Bend Brian We were without a bottomfinder as I just sent my Furuno in for repair so our plan was to just troll a shallow broad area of intermittent hard bottom we used to stone crab on. Stopping in 19 feet we deployed some grouper plugs despite a fair amount of grass on the surface and within 10 minutes had our first fish. Click here to read the full forum report

First Trip Success Florida Sportsman member:Gman27 30 minutes later I found a nice creek and a few lagoons and began working the banks with a paddle tail. I could see reds pushing bait on to the banks and lots of activity. Couple casts in and landed my first cedar key redfish of 19 inches. After the activity slowed down, I moved to a new lagoon and found more activity, landed another redfish of 29 inches. Click here to read the full forum report

A Trip Down South Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Friday, we decided to trailer up to Flamingo and sight fish way back up in the glades. Made about a 25 mile run north of Flamingo to some super skinny creeks. Ended up sight fishing around 10 nice reds up to 30 inches and 4 snook up to 28 inches. All fish being caught in less than 12 inches of water. Click here to read the full forum report

Fishing with the Girls Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Being the two girls have never caught redfish I thought this would be a good chance to put them on some fish. Didn’t really matter most were under slot, just catching was a blast for them. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching in Cedar Key Florida Sportsman member: barhopperAD We started off two keeper reds back to back. My little brother then hooked into a “redfish” which was screaming drag, pulled up to boat and it was a giant trout probably 25-27 inches, but the hook pulled right there and watched him swim away. Click here to read the full forum report

Waccasassa Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Headed out early even though it was a pretty early low tide. Took out a buddy that has not caught a lot of reds and was hoping to get him into some quality fish. He was not disappointed as we got into them pretty good. Click here to read the full forum report

Slot Slam Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286 Bob stuck to topwater like I’m sure Ted does because they want that one fish, which I understand but I wanted to catch my share of reds and wanted to see if it worked for him before doing so. All my redfish didn’t change his mind then he landed a top of the slot redfish that inhaled his plug! I stuck with the spoon then hooked the first snook! Click here to read the full forum report

From Tripletail to Tarpon Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown We head to where the third and final trap is, hopefully and sure enough it’s still there. We did not see any fish on it but made casts at it any way. My second cast and the cork goes under and drag starts screaming, another 10 pounder jumps. We get him netted and in the box. My kids both agreed that I needed to put my rod down. Click here to read the full forum report

Father and Son Fishing Florida Sportsman member: huntentails With the youngest son off of work and a favorable tide we settled on yesterday morning and it wasn’t a disappointment. We fished out of Crystal River and were on fish all morning with a strong outgoing tide. Robbie caught his best snook to date at 39 & 1/4 inches and I caught a 30 incher. Click here to read the full forum report

New Spot Producing Florida Sportsman member: Billy We went to an area that I’ve never been before, Duane hadn’t been in years, and we spent most of the trip fishing the same area. We put twelve keeper reds in the boat and Duane managed a snook after another one got off earlier. Click here to read the full forum report

Cedar Key Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz Mid-morning the tide was moving pretty good so we hit up into some creeks and found what we were looking for. We got 14 reds on rattletraps, spoons and jerk baits. A couple of oversize, a few under, with the majority in the slot. Click here to read the full forum report

Muddy Water, Big Drum Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown I told myself that when I hit this one bar, if there is a drum on it, I was going to get him. It was protected from the wind and would allow me to make a perfect cast. Sure enough, I round the corner and the tail was a waving. Click here to read the full forum report

Backwater Snook and Reds Florida Sportsman member: Ruff One With the tide getting lower every second, Duane say “Lets hit some redfish spots closer to home base”. Off we go on another wild ride and before you know it we are sitting on some rocks with redfish swirls looking us in the face. Pitch a spoon and a nice redfish is going home for dinner. Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Drummin’ Florida Sportsman member: anglerbros 7286 The fishing really picked up with the incoming tide, as we released a few slot reds and one over slot. We also caught three black drum, all were great fights in the kayak. All fish were caught less than a mile from the ramp and on live shrimp. Click here to read the full forum report

Grinding it Out Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Robbie went out with me for some topwater casting practice. Low outgoing to start and the incoming the rest of the morning. Robbie must of practiced ahead, because he hit a nice 36 inch snook at the first stop. Click here to read the full forum report

Cedar Key Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Well with in three casts with the skitter walk, I get smashed and a school stands the water up. Josh throws in and we are doubled up. Mine came in at 29 inches and his was 26 1/2, that set the tone for the day. We hit five or six spots and every spot had a school on it. Click here to read the full forum report

Snook and Scallops Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed We went to Sandy Hook yesterday so we decided to go Scalloping again on this beautiful day. After a late start, we motored out to the boat pack and found all the scallops I care to clean in a reasonable time. There are still plenty out there and they were big! Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Mixed Bag Florida Sportsman member: huntentails We started with an outgoing tide and a slight east wind. First cast was a great snook, but was lost before it was boated for a photo session. We had to make a move a few hundred yards to get away from the bluefish as they were just tearing up anything we threw. Click here to read the full forum report

Cedar Key Reds and Trout Florida Sportsman member: me3260 Live shrimp and cut ladyfish were the bait of the day. We caught a few on Gold Spoons, but the water is so dark, the only hits we got on spoons were throwing over a white sand bar, and reeling back across. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Snook Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed By now I am fishing spots where I’ve never fished before. Paid off with this massive 39 inch snook that was the toughest I’ve ever caught. 3 jumps and 3 long runs and somehow she didn’t wrap herself up in the sargasm. Missed another big one a few casts later and left early with the grandkids visiting at home. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Giant Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 I called Pete (Snookspanker) to try for some snooks with the morning high tide. He liked the tide today too so we went out for a quick trip. He stuck a giant one within the 1st half hour. The shoulders and the girth of this 40 plus incher was unreal. Click here to read the full forum report

First Snook Florida Sportsman member: Lake13 We both were looking for our first snook and just pounded till we both got one. 14 hours of fishing for one fish apiece. Couldn’t be happier though. What a beautiful area and we will both be back. Click here to read the full forum report

Jumbo Drum Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 We had some gulps so we messed around with some big drum pulling us around for a while. The last one that I caught was a behemoth and that was enough for me. We got out of there before the storm and made it home still dry. Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Reds and Scallops Florida Sportsman member: T-Bonefc After 15-20 minutes we shot further south and joined a small community between the C.R. crowd and Homosassa . The scallops were much better here in numbers. Still small for the most part but it is what it is in the beginning of the season. Click here to read the full forum report

Poling to the Reds Florida Sportsman member: Dveres95 We started the day out in Mason Creek and worked south toward Chassahowitzka, with a high morning tide we got deep into the back country to a flat that is very active and holds big redfish. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching in the Creeks Florida Sportsman member: Billy We managed a few reds and maybe a half dozen snook that actually made it to the boat. We kept hooking up the snook but a bunch simply either cut us off or came unbuttoned before we could get them to the boat. Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Variety Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 My brother was in town so we hit Yankeetown early. Got a nice snook on topwater that started the day out great. Had a couple other snook blow ups. Then went looking for reds. Click here to read the full forum report

Early Morning Snookin’ Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed Robbie had the big fish of the day on first and after a good battle, it gill plated the line, but we saw enough to know it was a big one. Then I got a fat 32 inch fish, which was a welcome relief. Click here to read the full forum report

Low Water, Big Snook Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 I heard drag screaming and saw a wake that looked like a torpedo going through the water. Had to pull the powerpole up and chase it for a little bit then finally it stopped making the long run and came close enough for me to realize it wasn’t the big red I thought it was. Click here to read the full forum report

On the Reds Florida Sportsman member: bigkahuna Forum member bigkahuna and wife got into the redfish in the big bend region, as well as a few bonus snook. Nice! Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Redfish Bite Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 My step dad picked up a couple more shorts. Well, the school died down and we started working to another area. My mom was real quiet in the back of the boat and said she sees something. So she throws to it and sure enough, it’s a nice 27″ red! Her biggest to date. Click here to read the full forum report

Calling in “Sick” Florida Sportsman member: hausw Not more than 5 minutes later I hooked into a much larger one and battled him for almost an hour. Hoisted him in the boat for a few pics and released him. After that I was exhausted and called it a day. Click here to read the full forum report

Mason Creek Reds Florida Sportsman member: Dveres95 We caught all our Reds on gold spoons, the fish were concentrated in the deeper mud troughs between the islands, which still held 2 to 3 feet on the dead low. It has been a great past month in the creek and it’s only looking better. Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Redfish Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 Well, got back to our normal spots on the incoming and noticed there wasn’t a whole lot of water moving. Turned around and went back out the way we came still on the incoming and boom, started seeing reds everywhere. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Inshore Bite Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Forum member and the Big Bend’s weekend 4caster ripnlips has been on the fish. Catching snook, trout, redfish and more. Click here to read the full forum report

Windy Day Success Florida Sportsman member: Billy It was windy. Even in the creeks it was a chore to have any kind of boat control but we stuck it out for a few hours. Tide was rushing in heavy and flooded a bunch of areas we usually fish. We had to change up a bit but it all worked out. Click here to read the full forum report

Working the Docks Florida Sportsman member: Bassin Assassin Switched to the smoke/gold halo color and was slowly swimming my lure near the bottom in the front of a dock, it got blasted. Set the hook on a solid fish. Got it away from the dock. After a nice aerial display and some good runs, Pat got her in the net. She measured 28 inches. Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Snook Bite Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Hammerhead Ted and I got out there early to catch the outgoing tide. Ted is the king of topwater snookin and he hooked a giant one on his 3rd or 4th cast. He fought it for a long time but it scraped his 40 pound leader up and broke off. Click here to read the full forum report

Fun with Friends Florida Sportsman member: Billy A great day on the water with a couple excellent fisherman and lots of laughs. Almost all fish came on top water and a Redfish Magic type lure. We’ll definitely do this again. Click here to read the full forum report

Successful Scouting Florida Sportsman member: CarneLoco We saw some big tails pop up in about 3 foot of water. Have heard of big black drum in these areas, but had no live crabs. Could have swore a few were reds mixed in. After many very good casts from both of us, Libby had a monster on. 15 minutes and a few laps around the bout she had her first black drum landed. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend, Big Reds Florida Sportsman member: Jim311 I pushed in further into the creek. I spooked one nice red which I didn’t even see until he’d spooked. Then I hooked up again, and again it was another super hard fight. This fish was bigger though, over 32 inches. It had a head on it the size of a football, a real stud fish. Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Snookin’ Florida Sportsman member: HammerheadTed We caught fish everywhere we went including some places that haven’t produced the last couple years. Robbie got 4 lower slot and under slot reds and several jacks. I missed a big snook early, but disappointment didn’t last too long when i got a 31 inch snook at the next place. Click here to read the full forum report

Sheepshead, Snook and Snapper Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Sheepshead Snapper and Snook have been the targeted species lately. Seems like the sheeps are finally spawning out on the rocks reefs and ledges just offshore. They are willing to bite if you get good enough weather to get out there. When the weather gets bad we have been getting snapper and snook in the river. Live shrimp has been the bait of choice. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Bruisers Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown We hit the first spot, the water was clear and they were schooled up. Watched a school of over slots swim down the bank. Then got to watch the whole school fight over my fluke, simply awesome to watch. Click here to read the full forum report

Homosassa Redfish Florida Sportsman member: floridafan Pulled in about 60 mostly undersized reds but managed 4 keepers between 20 to 24 inches. We each had a run 10 fish in 10 casts for me and 11 fish in 11 casts for my son, both at the same time! 21 fish in less than 10 minutes! Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Inshore Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Sheepshead are starting to show up in their normal wintertime spots. We’re still getting a by-catch of gag grouper too. All on 8 pound braid and live shrimp. Click here to read the full forum report

Afternoon Redfish Bite Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Once the tide came in enough we headed out front to fish the outer bars. Was slow for an hour or so but the last hour and a half of daylight they turned on. Had a couple of doubles then switched out to topwater and got a few good ones on top. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching the Bulls Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown Well Jacobs first blind cast was inhaled by a 20 pound stud. I was thinking this is a good way to start. Jacob, my youngest son, and I were on one boat and moved out to another cut to the gulf. Took a while for another bite and I finally got on the board with another 25 pounder on topwater. Click here to read the full forum report

December Inshore Fishing Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips My son Jeremy came home for Christmas so we went out and fished for a few hours for trout around some creeks. Caught our limit of trout and released about 20 more by 11:30. Also caught these on jig and DOA Cals and some with live shrimp on a jig. Click here to read the full forum report

Nice Weather, Hungry Fish Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown As I get within casting distance I see a pack of about 5 reds milling around so I post up and tell the boys to throw up there. Jacobs cast was right in the middle of them and he hooks up instantly. Click here to read the full forum report

Hiding From the Wind, Catching the Fish Florida Sportsman member: Billy Moving to some areas that were sheltered from the wind we caught jacks, more ladyfish than we cared to, mangroves with some keepers in the bunch, a red, and lots of snook. We managed to put twelve snook in the boat losing more than that before touching the leader. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching with the Kids Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown We headed to the first spot and started throwing topwater over some oyster bars. Got one 25 inch red and a stud trout right off the bat. Pulled the hooks on two over slot reds and had several misses before making a move. I then jumped up on the platform and turned the front of the boat over to the boys. Click here to read the full forum report

Birthday Fun Florida Sportsman member: Bluewaterdrew We chased huge schools of mullet picking off reds here and there, Jen even hooked a nice flounder. After high tide we went to a bar to try our luck with black drum. Saw a few huge ones that didn’t seem to mind us being right on top of them, but the jacks were so thick it was hard to keep a lure in the water. Click here to read the full forum report

Catching in the Transition Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips For the past few weeks we have been seeing fish transition from Summer patterns to Fall patterns and this means that they are in the mood to eat. Now is the time to get out on the water and take advantage of it. Click here to read the full forum report

Seeing Red Florida Sportsman member: G8trbait Then the girls got a double hook up. It must have been a small school that swam by because they were hooked up back to back! April’s was a keeper, but Sophie’s had to grow up a little. It was legal, but we could afford to be picky and I don’t usually keep them unless they’re over 20 inches. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Redfish Action Florida Sportsman member: cthurow Drew’s first cast with his Zara Spook and boom, fish on! Nice drag screamer. I already had a piece of lady fish rig on a larger rod so I went ahead and threw it out while Drew played his fish. As soon as I netted Drew’s 26 inch red, he yells, Dad that rod is bowed to the water! Click here to read the full forum report

Suwannee River Tripletail and More Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown As we trolling motor up to the first pole, a 10 pounder sky rockets 6 feet in the air about 75 yards out in the open. First time I have seen one free jump. My brother makes a cast at the pole and hooks up instantly. The fish gave two amazing jumps and spits the hook. Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Fishing and Fun Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips Forum member ripnlips and friends had a great weekend, catching a slew of fish. They also loaded on scallops, making for a nice meal! Click here to read the full forum report

Waccasassa Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz About the time the tides were getting right the heat was kicking into gear. After a couple of decent Reds a storm started brewing up towards Cedar Key so it was time to cut it short. Click here to read the full forum report

Tearing Up the Tripletails Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown The chop made it a slow boat ride out but busted one on the very first pole. The fishing was hard due to waves coming over the bow and only being able to see down 3 to 4 inches but we made the most of it and put 5 in the box and called it after about 4 hours. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Slam Florida Sportsman member: Billy All the fish were caught on artificial and I believe we didn’t get any on topwater. The snook was about 31 inches, the red is dinner, and the trout is back in the water. I have a place that you can almost always catch a trout even in this heat so we went there so Duane could try to get his slam. Duane came through with a Mirrodine. Click here to read the full forum report

Horseshoe Beach Inshore Florida Sportsman member: florida_dorksman The thunder cloud may have saved the day, because the first creek we hit had more activity than I have seen out of there in almost a year. A steady stream of live shrimp kept the bite on fire, and within an hour and a half we had 4 redfish to 28 1/2 inches, an 18 inch sheepshead and a 24 inch black drum. Click here to read the full forum report

Waccasassa Reds Florida Sportsman member: Redbonz So after the skies cleared up we were able to get up to where we wanted to fish. Strong tide and the breeze made for some tough fishing at first but we stuck with it and hit some quality fish. Five reds from 16 to 34 inches with two right at 27 inches that went home for dinner. Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Black Drum Florida Sportsman member: Biggary16 Forum member Biggary16 got into some nice black drum! Only fishing for a few hours he caught 6 “big uglies” and a nice flounder. Tight work! Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Snook Bite Florida Sportsman member: Snook Spanker These fish weren’t just slobs, they were smart slobs just like all the big snook I’ve encountered. In fact the first 6 or 7 I hooked were on topwater lures and either threw the hooks, ran me into and around rocks and snags or had me on so long they wore through the 50 pound leader! Click here to read the full forum report

Wrecking the Reds Florida Sportsman member: PONCE Brandon and I had the best day of our life inshore fishing for Reds. We caught Reds up to 32 inches and 13 Reds overall on the outgoing tide, all reds and trout were caught on soft plastic paddle tail on a jig. The big fish came first then as the tide was bottoming out came the four 26 and 27 slots for the cooler. Click here to read the full forum report

Tarpon and Scallops in the Big Bend Florida Sportsman member: Bluewaterdrew Started off the day at my honey hole. Caught several jacks and runners. Then Jen hooked a nice little Tarpon that burned off lots of line and gave us several great jumps for the camera. Later we headed out for scallops and quickly got out limit. Click here to read the full forum report

Yankeetown Slam Florida Sportsman member: StandOutI2 5 minutes after we came off plane I get a little 16 inch red on a topwater plug to start the day off. My step brother threw right behind me and picked up another one about the same size. It was starting out as a promising morning. Just around the corner I threw into a spot I knew I was gonna hook up with a fish. I didn’t expect a 27 inch red to go into the box. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Inshore Bite Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown My brother said he was tired of catching jack so he declined to throw into the madness. I got hit three times before getting buttoned up. This was a better class of fish. Thought it was one of the 12 to 15 pound jacks but after a good battle a 10 pound permit pops up next to the boat. Click here to read the full forum report

Crystal River Opening Day Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips If I was to guess how many boats we saw out of Crystal River I would say maybe 1000. Even with all of the crowds we still got a boat limit of scallops in a decent amount of time. We had time today to even get some fishing done. Click here to read the full forum report

Scouting the Crystal River Florida Sportsman member: ripnlips After seeing the scallops we decide to see if the fish were biting. Jeremy got a quick slam and I got a decent snook. Jacks seem to be everywhere as always. Everything was caught on the same bait, DOA Cal shad tail on a jig. Click here to read the full forum report

Big Bend Slammin’ Florida Sportsman member: Billy Initially we stopped for some fishing and I hook up a decent snook but lose it, I hook up a red, yep, and lose it. Duane hooks a red and he too loses it. We’re thinking maybe we are getting rusty. Click here to read the full forum report

Father’s Day Fun Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Its not always about the fish You catch, it’s about the memories made and the things passed on from one who loves to fish to another! All I can say is thanks son for a great day on the water! Click here to read the full forum report

Getting to the Point Florida Sportsman member: shuterkng Forum member shuterkng got out this weekend and got into the fish! Fishing Long Point with live shrimp produced some nice fish, including black drum and flounder. Click here to read the full forum report.

Cedar Key Catching Florida Sportsman member: Flash Picked one of the islands out and moved down the shoreline. Saw some reds but got no action. Finally I eased us up along a bar, gave it a cast and fish on! Took me under the boat a couple of times but managed to bring him to the net girl. Click here to read the full forum report.

Shired Island Monster and More Florida Sportsman member: jwroe I started throwing my top water at it, but no luck, and a few minutes later , the tail pops up again. My wife casts a shrimp to it, and off to the races. She nails a nice 35 inch plus drum. about 10 to 15 minutes of fighting and we had it boat side. I reached down to get the lippers on it and it turned and broke line right at the boat. Click here to read the full forum report.

Cedar Key Trout and Macks Florida Sportsman member: lboverhof After being done with catching mackerel and before the tide slowly started coming back in, we started drifting over some grass between 3 to 4 feet of water behind snake. We ended up with 5 keeper trout with the biggest being 19 inches. At first there was maybe one other boat out there, but around 3:00 I look around and it looks like a parking lot. There had to have been 15+ boats that were pretty close to each other on the flats! Click here to read the full forum report.

Reds, Over and Under Florida Sportsman member: Billy No fish dinner tonight. Two over slots that were fat and healthy, plus eight under slots. I did catch a trout but no snook. All fish came on spoons, redfish magic, and soft jerkbaits. Click here to read the full forum report.

Busting Reds on Both Coasts Florida Sportsman member: Scott Crown I then jump up on the poling platform and start poling the boys around this big mud flat that has some scattered fish on it to see if we could sight fish some. We see a few and miss a few, then I see one headed down the bank and tell josh to cast a 11 o’clock and he nails the cast and the red jumps on the fluke. Another nice upper slot fish joins the party. Click here to read the full forum report.

Slammin’ the Big Bend Backcountry Florida Sportsman member: Billy Still looking for reds and trying to avoid the trout we pulled up on a point and a 33 inch snook hits my lure. After a long fight on trout and redfish gear I got it in the boat. The area we fish has some nice snook but they aren’t easy to catch until it warms up a bit. Click here to read the full forum report.

Light Tackle, Low Tides and Keeper Trout Florida Sportsman member: PONCE I finished today around noon and took off to Waccasassa. Short and Sweet, here it is guys I`m not going to hide where , what bait and everything. Got on the water at 2:30 this afternoon and headed in around 5:30. Fished the outgoing tide back in the creeks and caught Trout up to 18.5 inches and a small Red around 16 inches. Click here to read the full forum report.

Seein’ Red in Cedar Key Florida Sportsman member: GatoRella The contrast of a dark fish on a light colored bottom made them real easy targets for sight fishing. For the next hour or so we took turns netting and releasing big over slot reds, high-fiving, and generally having an awesome time. We ended up with 3 keeper reds including 2 bookend 27 inch tourney winners, a handful trout, and a bunch of 30 plus inch over slots. Click here to read the full forum report.

Rainy Day Trout Florida Sportsman member: huntentails Liking what I was seeing, but with little or no bait action we decided to fish a few of the points with deep water. It didn’t take long as the fish were there and hungry, we made short order of putting some in the box for a couple dinners until this weather cleans up. Click here to read the full forum report.

MidDay Trout Bite Florida Sportsman member: dakilmartin1 We worked the edges of deeper cuts during the outgoing tide and the shallow flats on the incoming. Every fish was taken on a MirroDine and several were sight fished. Long light leaders and longer casts were the trick today. Both Rob and I caught our personal best trout today on hard baits but I was more excited for rob as this was his first trip down the river! We easily put a limit of upper slot trout in the boat today but only kept a dozen. Click here to read the full forum report.

Steinhatchee Bulls Florida Sportsman member: JC_UF_ITK Outside of a handful of trout, 3 being keepers, we managed two monster redfish on a double hook up. The first fish ate a jerkbait and was followed by two others. A quick cast of a spinnerbait managed the second fish. One weighed 26 pounds and the other was 20 pounds. Click here to read the full forum report.